Connecting apparatus for portable telephone sets



Dec. 7, 1943. R, G. GRAHAM CONNECTING APPARATUS FOR PORTABLE TELEPHONE SETS Fil'ed Feb. 27, 1942 2 Sheets-Sheet l fivmswroe.

Eov G. GBAHAM ATTOENE'V Dec. 7,-1943. R. G. GRAHAM CONNECTING APPARATUS FOR PORTABLE 'I'IILEPI IONE SETS Fild Feb. 2'7, 1942 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 a .w my

IPOY 6-? GAAl/AM Patented Dec. 7, 1943 CONNECTING APPARATUS FOR PORTABLE TELEPHONE SETS Roy G. Graham, St. Louis, Mo., assignor to James R. Kearney Corporation, St. Louis, Mo., a corporation of Missouri Application February 27, 1942, Serial No. 432,691

2 Claims.

This invention relates generally to telephone connecting apparatus and more specifically to apparatus for temporarily connecting portable telephone sets to overhead telephone lines for use by workmen in the field, the predominant object of the invention being to provide a simple apparatus through the use of which telephone workmen in the field may be able, in a very convenient manner, to connect portable telephone sets into telephone systems in order that they may communicate with their headquarters for testing purposes, giving of reports, receiving instructions, and for other purposes.

Prior to this invention, a man working in the field on a telephone system was frequently required to walk a relatively long distance to find a tap which could be employed to connect a portable telephone set into the telephone system when he desired to communicate with his headquarters, the taps usually being mounted on occasional telephone poles for such use. The prime purpose of this invention is to eliminate the necessity for a workman searching for a tap when he desires to have telephonic communication from the field with his headquarters and this purpose is accomplished by providing a relatively simple apparatus which may be employed by a workman to connect into the telephone system a portable telephone set at any place where he may be working at the time he desires to communicate with his headquarters. Thus the time formerly consumed by a workman walking to a tap is saved, and the workman is at all times in a position to place himself in immediate, direct communication with his headquarters.

Fig. 1 is a side elevation of the improved connecting device, a portion of the pole thereof being broken away.

Fig. 2 is an edge elevation of the upper portion of the apparatus shown in Fig. 1.

Fig. 3 is a view on a reduced scale showing thev upper portion of the improved connecting apparatus and showing the manner in which the ap- Fig. 7 is a sectional-elevation taken on line 55 1-1 of Fig. 6.

Fig. 8 is a fragmentary edge elevation of the apparatus illustrating the clamp forming a part thereof which is employed to connect the apparatus to one of the telephone wires to Which the apparatus is connected.

' Fig. 9 is a fragmentary section taken on line 9- 9 of Fig. 4.

Fig. 10 is an enlarged, fragmentary end elevation' of the structure shown in Fig. 7.

In the drawings, wherein is shown for thepurpose of illustration, merely, one embodiment of the invention, A designates the improved connecting'apparatus generally. The apparatus A comprises a head portion I to which is suitably attached an elongated pole 2, said head comprising a pair of members 3 and 4 which are formed of suitable insulating material, a plastic for instance, and which provide spaced wall portions 5 and 6. The members 3 and 4 are proviedd with inwardly extended, arcuate extensions 1 and 8 at the upper portions thereof which contact with each other at their inner faces as shown in Fig. 5 to provide the proper transverse spacing of the wall portions 5 and 6, said members 3 and 4 being secured together by bolt and nut assemblies, the bolts 9 of which extend through apertures formed through portions of said members including the extensions 1 and 8 thereof.

Also, at the lower portions of-the members 3 and 4 of the head portion l of the apparatus A, said members have formed thereon inwardly projected extensions l0 and II that are shaped as shown in Figs. 4 and 5 and which contact with each other at their inner faces, as is also shown in Fig. 5, to maintain the spaced relation of the lower portions of the wall portions 5 and 6. The wall portions 5 and 6 are provided with vertically elongated portions l2 and I3 which are bowed outwardly in horizontal section and are complementary to the extensions l0 and II, said extensions l0 and H and the associated portions l2 and [3 of the wall portions 5 and 6 providing a vertically elongated socket M which receives the upper end portion of the pole 2. The lower portions of the members ,3 and 4 are secured together by a bolt and nut assemblyl5, the bolt 01 which extends through portionsof said members including the extensions 10 and II thereof, and a pair of bolt and nut assemblies 16, the bolts of which extend through the bowed portions l2 and 13 of the wall portions 5 and ,6 and through the pole 2. Each of the members 3 and4 is providedy with an outwardly extended, marginal fla ge llj which is shaped as shown to the best advantage in Fig. 1, and the thinner wall portion of each member 3 and 4, which is located within the marginal flange I! thereof, is strengthened by an outwardly extended, inverted, U-shaped rib l8 and associated radially extended ribs [9.

Secured to the head portion l of the apparatus A is a bracket (Figs. 4 and 9) which is formed of electrical conducting material and is secured between edge portions of the members 3 and 4 by a pair of bolts 2|, said bolts being extended through alined apertures formed through said edge portions of the members 3 and 4 and through apertures formed through a lug portion 22 which forms a part of said bracket 2i) and is disposed between said edge portions of the members 3 and 4. The bracket 20 includes an upwardly pro-. jected extension 23 and said bracket is provided with outwardly extended flanges 24 at its opposite sides which overlap adjacent edge portions of the members 3 and 4 as shown in Fig, 9, Also, the bracket 20 has formed therein at its front face a channel 20 in which the lower end portions of a spring clamp 25 are seated and are secured by welding. Various types of clamp 25 may be employed as a part of the apparatus A, the particular clamp illustrated being formed from a single length of relatively stiff wire which is shaped to provide the lower leg portions 26 which are seated in the channel 20 of the bracket 2?], portions 27 which extend outwardly from the upper portions of said lower leg portions, spaced portions 28 which extend upwardly from the outer portions of said portions 27 and terminate in coiled portions 29, and portions 30 which are continuations of said coiled portions and provide a downwardly extended looped clamping portion. The lower portion of the looped clamping portion of the clamp 25 is inclined outwardly as shown in Figs. 1, 3, and 4, and the portions 28 and 30 are shaped to provide gripping portions 28 and 30' between which an electrical conductor may be gripped.

Extended through alined apertures formed through the wall portion 5 and 6 of the members 3 and 4 is a bolt 3i having a head portion at one end and being provided with a screwthreaded shank on which a nut 3| is mounted. Interposed between the head portion of the bolt 3| and the outer face of the adjacent wall pore tion 5 is the upper end portion of a metallic strip 32 that serves as a current shunt, said metallic strip extending downwardly from the bolt 3| to the location of the bolt I5, and said bolt [5 passing through an aperture formed in said metallic strip so that the lower portion of the metallic strip is interposed between the head of the bolt I5 and the outer face of the wall portion 5. Also arranged beneath the head portion of the bolt I5 is the end portion of a conductor 33a of a two conductor cable 33, said head portion of said bolt, l5 serving to draw the end portion of the conductor 330. into close contact with the metallic strip 32 so as to provide good electrical contact therebetween. The other conductor 33b of the two conductor cable 33 extends to the lowermost of the two bolts 2i which secure the bracket 20 in place between the members 3 and 4, the end, portion of said conductor 331) being engaged be,-

neath the head of said bolt in contact therewith so that said conductor 33b is in electrical con tact with the bolt, which is formed of electrical conducting material, and with the bracket 20.

The bolt 3| is held in a fixed position by having its nut 3| screwed inwardly on the screw-, threaded shank of the bolt to force said nut against therouterface of the wall portion 6 and draw the head of said bolt into close contact with the outer face of the metallic strip 32, said metallic strip being provided with an outwardly extended flange 32 at its upper end which is ar 5 ranged adjacent to the head of the bolt 3| and prevents rotation of the bolt when the nut 3| is being manipulated. The bolt 3| has mounted thereon, for rotation between the wall portions 5 and 6, a reel 34 which is made up of an annular element 35 to which a pair of spaced disks 36 are secured. The disks 35 are provided with alined apertures through which the shank of the bolt 3! extends and said disks extend outwardly beyond the annular element 35 to provide the reel 34 with an annular channelway 31.

The reel 34 has associated therewith a helically wound spring 38 which is arranged within the annular element 35 of said reel and between portions of the opposed disks 36 thereof, one end of 20 said spring 38 being secured to the annular element 35 of the reel by a suitable fastening device 39 and the opposite end portion of the spring 38 being secured to the bolt 3| by being extended through a slot 40 formed in the shank of said 5 bolt 3| and by being bent partially about said bolt shank as shown at 4| in Fig. 4. The helical spring 38 tends to rotate the reel 34 in the direction indicated by the feathered arrow in Fig. 4.

Connected to the annular element 35 of the reel 30 34 is an insulated conductor 42 which is wound about said annular element 35 of the reel in the annular channelway 3'? of said reel, said conductor being connected to the annular element of the reel by having a stripped end portion 42a of the 5 wire thereof inserted into an aperture formed in said annular element and suitably secured therein.

At its outer end the conductor 42 has attached thereto a terminal 43 which is of generally hookshaped formation, said terminal having a base portion 44 which is provided with a cavity 45. The cavity 45 of the terminal receives an ele ment 46 which is provided with an opening 41 that receives an end portion of the conductor 42 and a smaller opening 47 which receives in suitable securement with the wall thereof a stripped end portion 42b of the wire of the conductor 42. The element 46 is secured to the terminal by a set screw 48 which is arranged in a screwthreaded; opening formed in the base portion 44, of the terminal 43, and engages at. its inner end a surface portion of said element 46. The extreme outer portion 49. of the terminal 43 is provided with an opening in which a sleeve 59 is fixedly dis-. posed, said sleeve having fixedly arranged therein a group of hardened pins 5| provided with sharpe'nedinner ends which are exposed at the outer end of the passageway 52. of the hookshaped terminal. I

In the use of the improved connecting apparatus A, a workman desiring to connect. a portable telephone set into the telephone system in order that he might communicate withhis headquarters, will grasp the pole 2 of the, apparatus and elevate the head portion of the apparatus tothe proper elevation to enable him to hook theterminal'43 over onev of the overhead telephone lines with, which contact must be made, for'instance the line Ta of Fig. 3. He will then swing the, head portion of the apparatus A away from the; line To engaged by the terminal 43 and toward the other telephone line with which contact must be made, for instance the line Tb of Fig. 3, thereby un.-- winding the'conductor 42 from the reel 34 while 75 said reel is being rotated against the; force exerted thereagainst by the helical spring 38. When the head portion of the apparatus A has been guided by the workman to a position where:the clamp '25 is located immediately above the telephone line Tb, said headportion is moved downwardly so that the line Tb enters the crotch between the outwardly inclined portion of the clamping portion of the clamp provided by the portions 30 thereof and the portions 28 of said clamp. Continued movement of the head portion of the apparatus in a downwarddirection will cause the clamping portion of the clamp to be cammed outwardly against the force exerted. by the coiled portions ,29 of the clamp, with the result that the telephone line will enter between and will be gripped by the gripping portions 28' and 30 of the clamp portions 28 and 30. With the apparatus connected to the proper telephone lines as described the workman will attach a portable telephone set to a tap, which is not shown but which is attached to the lower end of the two conductor cable 33, and said telephone set will be connected into the telephone system and will be ready for use.

When the terminal 43 is engaged with a telephone line and the head portion of the apparatus is swung toward the associated telephone line to engage the clamp 25 therewith, the points of the hardened pins will break through any oxidation present on the surface of the wire so as to make ood electrical contact between the terminal 43 and the Wire. Also, when proper electrical contact has been made between the apparatus A and the appropriate telephone lines the auxiliary circuit provided by the apparatus will be made up of the terminal 43, the conductor 42, the annular element 35 of the reel 34, the helical spring 38, the bolt 3|, the metallic strip 32, the conductor 33a of the cable 33, the portable telephone set (not shown), the conductor 33b of th cable 33, the lower bolt of the bolts 2|, the bracket 20, and the clamp 25. When it is desired to disconnect the apparatus A from the telephone lines to which it is connected, the head portion of the apparatus is elevated sufficiently to disengage the clamp 25 from the telephone line to which it was connected, and said head portion is moved toward the other telephone line that is engaged by the terminal 43. During this movement of the head portion of the apparatus the helical spring 38 will rotate the reel 34 in the direction indicated by the feathered arrow in Fig. 4 with the result that the conductor 42 will be re-wound on the reel until rotation of the reel is arrested by the opposed side flanges 44' of the terminal 43 coming into contact with edge portions of the members 3 and 4, as shown in Fig, 6. The terminal is then disconnected from the telephone line with which it was in engagement and the apparatus is lowered to the ground.

It will be noted by referring to Figs. 1, 2, and 5, that the cable 33 is secured to the apparatus by clips 52 which are secured in place by the bolts 16. Also, brackets 53 and 54 are secured to the pole 2, in spaced relation longitudinally thereof, the bracket 53 being shaped and arranged as shown in Fig. 2 with its opening at the upper end thereof while the bracket 54, which is of the same shape as the bracket 53, is arranged with its opening at the lower end thereof. The brackets 53 and 54 are adapted to have the cable 33 coiled thereabout when the apparatus is not in use to avoid the presence of a loose cable which would be troublesome when the apparatus is not in use or is stored in a truck or elsewhere.

sIclaim:

1. An apparatus for connecting a portable telephone set into a telephone system comprising a head portion, an elongated pole by which said head portion is fixedly supported, said head portion comprising 'a'pair of complementary mem-' bers formed of plastic insulating material and having opposed wall portion and provided with inwardly projected extensions which abut with each other to maintain said wall portions of said members in spaced apart relation, said members of said head portion including also portions which in the assembled head portion provide an elongated socket that is closed at its upper end and open at its lower end and in which socket an end portion of the elongated pole is received, and said members of said head portion being secured together by fastening elements some of which extend through portions of said members and others of which extend through said socket-providing portions of said members and through said pole, a shaft fixedly supported by and extended between said spaced wall portions of said head portion, a reel supported by said shaft for rotary movement with respect thereto in the space between the opposed wall portions of the members of said head portion, a helically wound spring connected at its opposite ends to said shaft and said reel and adapted to rotate said reel in one direction, a conductor connected to and wound on said reel and adapted to be unwound therefrom to an extended condition on rotation of said reel in the opposite direction to the direction in which said reel is rotated by said helically wound spring, a terminal connected to the outer end portion of said conductor and adapted to be connected to a telephone line, an engaging element fixed to said head portion and adapted to engage another telephone line, and conducting elements arranged in electrical connection respectively with said shaft and said engaging element, said shaft, said helically wound spring, and parts of said reel with which said conductor, said helically wound spring and said shaft contact being formed of electrical conducting material and serving as parts of an electrical circuit of which said conductor and said conducting elements are parts, and the insulating nature of the material of which the members of said head portion are formed serving to cause electrical energy to follow the normal path provided therefor.

2. An apparatus for connecting a portable telephone set into a telephone system comprising a head portion, an elongated pole by which said head portion is fixedly supported, said head portion comprising a pair of complementary members formed of plastic insulating material and having opposed wall portions and provided with inwardly projected extensions which abut with each other to maintain said wall portions of said members in spaced apart relation, said members of said head portion including also portions having parts of approximately semicircular formation which in the assembled head portion provide an elongated socket that is closed at its upper end and open at its lower end and in which socket an end portion of the elongated pole is received, and said members of said head portion being secured together by fastening elements some of which extend through portions of said members and others of which extend through said socketproviding portions of said members and through said pole, a shaft fixedly supported by and extended between said spaced wall portions of said head portion, a reel supported by said shaft for asaaooa rotary movement with respect thereto in the space, between the opposed wall portions: of the rne nber of said head portion, ahelically wound spring connected at its Opposite ends. tdsaid shaft and said reel and adapted to rotate said reel in one direction, a conductor connected to and wound on said reel and adapted to be unwound therefrom to an extended condition on rotation of; said reel in the opposite direction. to the di-.

reetion in which said reel is: rotated by said 10 helically wound spring, a terminal connected tothe outer end portion of said conductor andadapted to be connected to, a telephone line, an engaging element fixed to said head portion and ada ted, to, engage another telephone line, and 15;

ROY G; GRAHAM. 

